Tag: sketch comedy

What was thought to be a one-time sleight of handjob has instantly become the most Brentweinbachian set-up/punchline delivery to a rote comedy trope. Comedy is the easiest solution to the problem of magic. The mysticism, overly-serious showmanship, pageantry, and invasive, elaborate ruses can be instantly and perennially mocked by just fucking up, or fucking somebody …

Every hero needs an origin story. This is Anna Seregina’s. For the uninitiated, Seregina was a stand-up in San Francisco before relocating to Los Angeles. As above, so below, she’s honed a style that’s confessional, impressional, off-center and something you can root for. In this directorial debut, Seregina cross casts herself as the …

“There’s no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there’s no excuse for boredom, ever.” — Some strong words from Viggo Mortensen. Alas, Ben Kolina and Cameron Vannini are bored and debate what phone app they should use to alleviate their nothingness while a clown, Ron Chapman, idles …

Big Homies are important in the San Francisco comedy scene. They tell you where to go, who to talk to, where to hang out. They show what it is to be a polished, professional type. They give you that critical feedback and validation of they like your work. Might even take you under their wing, …

Birthed in 1988, my cognition didn’t really kick in until 1995. Even then, growing old, alcoholism, and repressed memories have rendered the last hurray of the 20th Century an ambiguous mess. I remember more about the “I Love the” series than I remember about my own childhood. And, outside of cartoons and learning that I …

Can you feel a brand new day (that’s familiarly similar to all the other days)? That’s what this video proposes in answer to the questions of why NBC’s The Wiz Live! was soooo black? Like, hella black? Like, uncomfortably black? So many people decried that The Wiz Live was inherently racist, reverse racist, due to a …

I’m disoriented by the angles and frightened by the decor. I have full control but feel utterly helpless. Strange, amphibious bipeds glaring into my soul, my status as a person with flesh surely damning me to doom. Then I realize: I’m just the camera, and this is just a recording: an omni-directional, virtual reality unboxing …

Ah, the guerrilla sketch. When ordinary citizens and the production values of the outside world are incorporated in some kind of farce. At its height a good guerrilla is the epitome of schedenfreude, “what I woulda done” comments on Facebook shares, and pixelated faces. At its worst, the gotcha awkwardness is turned against the viewer, shamefulness …

Color didn’t exist until the late 1960s, early 70s. As a child, in my adorable ignorance, I knew that cameras recorded life, and life was simply monochromatic for a very long time. Roses were gray, violets were grey, people were grey, and the darker greys had a lot of reasons to be grey about …

Comedy’s about timing, right? Some of the best jokes are sprung from the most unwitting sources, others are made awkward by subsequent circumstances. In an attempt tie in the season three launch of the fantastic OITNB with simple wordplay—and inferred jab towards tan culture—SF comedians Sal Calanni (Pornstache) and Destini Bryant (Pennsatucky) slipped into …